MY TIME: Rooney the favourite to lead England after Gerrard retires [GETTY]

Gerrard called time on a glorious England career that saw him win 114 caps to become one of the true greats of the game.

The Liverpool star, 34, admits he did a lot of soul-searching before deciding to stand down following a heart-to-heart talk with his wife Alex and former colleagues including David Beckham.

Gerrard insists he has made the right decision - despite still feeling stunned at the manner of England's failure at this summer's World Cup in Brazil.

Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson is now expected to hand the armband to Rooney when the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign begins in September.

“To ask my body now, the way it is and what it has been through, to play international football and domestic football was too much of an ask”

Steven Gerrard

Gerrard, who is the third most capped England star of all time, said: "I've come to a decision, after a lot of agonising, I've decided to step out of the England fold and retire from international duty.

"It was a very difficult decision to make, it is something that I have been contemplating for a long time, and not just since the end of the World Cup.

"It's a decision I've taken very seriously and it's been tough. It's swung both ways at times and I've had to take an awful lot of advice from people who are close to me, players who I still play with, players who I have played with a long time ago, managers, managers who I have played with years ago.

"Yes, it's been a really tough decision, certainly one of the toughest I've had to make since I turned professional at 18.

"It's been tough but I've come to the decision, I feel as if I've made the right decision."

Gerrard insists he has decided to step down so he can help Liverpool succeed in the Champions League next season - and not because Hodgson's men were so poor in Brazil.

He said: "I haven't made my decision on the back of the World Cup. I've made my decision on my age, on my body, on being fair to Liverpool Football Club, being respectful to them especially with the Champions League back - that was a huge factor.

"To ask my body now, the way it is and what it has been through, to play international football and domestic football was too much of an ask.

"Big picture-wise, over the next two, three, four years, the best thing for my body, where I stand now, is to step aside out of the international fold and give my body the best chance to perform well, certainly over the next year while I'm contracted to Liverpool."

HEARTBREAK: Gerrard was left distraught with England's World Cup performances [GETTY]

Gerrard admits he was too emotional to talk to Hodgson straight after the World Cup but contacted the Three Lions boss last week to reveal his decision.

He added: "The most important thing for me was to not make an emotional decision, or a rash decision. I was asked questions during the World Cup, before the World Cup, after the World Cup to make a decision on my future, but it wasn't the right time.

"It was important that I came away from football, I had some time to be alone, time to be with my close family and friends and discuss and talk about what was going to be the best decision for me moving forward.

"The first time I spoke to Roy properly was this week, I tried to have an initial chat with him straight after the World Cup, but I was too emotional to talk to him.

"I'm still very upset with how the World Cup went and I needed time to come away, gather my thoughts, clear my head and make sure it was the right decision because it was so big."